Missy Elliott has kept her fans waiting seven years for a new album, but it promises to be worth the wait. The trailblazing rapper has been in the studio with her partner-in-rhyme Timbaland working on the long-awaited follow-up to 2005s The Cookbook. Rap-Up TV spoke with one of Missy’s best friends, Monica, who shared her excitement over her long-awaited return.

“Missy is missing from music and hip-hop because there’s no one as creative, as dedicated,” said the R&B songstress, who collaborated with Missy on her latest album New Life. “She thinks outside the box, but at the same time, draws you in the box that she’s in. She’s able to make visuals of things that I’ve never even dreamed of. I think hip-hop really needs her right now.”

She’s been lucky enough to hear some of Missy’s latest material. “I’ve heard some new music and all I can tell you is that Missy is at her absolute best when she’s at peace with herself and there’s no pressure,” she shared. “She’s been able to work on her record with a host of real talented people and reinvent herself all over again.”

Is another collaboration on the horizon? “She told me she wanted me to do something on the new record and we never did it,” said Mo, who has a house nearby Missy in Atlanta. “What I do is I just go to the house and we just make music. No time restraints, nobody watching us, nobody coming in between us, we just do it, so I think it will happen.”